Rice is the most important staple food in Malaysia. Malaysia produces about seventy percent of the amount of rice it needs to support itself, and the rest will be imported. About 300,500 hectares on Malaysia Peninsula are for rice production and a large part of it is in Kedah otherwise known as the "rice bowl" of Malaysia.

Rice grows best in warm environment, the temperature regime and rainfall distribution in Malaysia are suitable for rice production all year round. Paddy seeds will be soaked in water first, then they will be sown into special nursery beds before transported to rice fields, it would take three months for the paddy to grow and produce rice grains to be harvested.

In Malaysia there are two categories of rice which are Indica and Japonica. Indica is non-sticky, long-grained rice, it is light and fluffy when it is cooked and the kernels separate from one another, Basmati (white or brown) rice and Jasmin (white or brown) rice is belong to the Indica category. Whereas, Japonica is moist, sticky and short grained, Uruchi-mai and Glutinous Rice belongs to this category. People usually use Indica rice to cook normal rice, and Japonica rice to make Malaysian delicacies such as lemang, pulut, bak chang, puttarisi and more.

Rice is usually eaten with different side dishes but rice is also used to make many delicious dishes in Malaysia, such as nasi lemak, nasi goreng (fried rice), nasi himpit, glutinous rice in lotus leaf and congee. Rice grain is a very healthy for us, it is an excellent source of carbohydrates and it has low fat, low sugar, low salt and cholesterol free! Whole grains (brown rice) contain high amount of insoluble fiber, which is said to may help protect against a variety of cancers and rice is also a fair source of protein containing all eight amino acids the body need.